`Thinking Allowed' is a truly seminal work which should become required reading not just for Head teachers and those charged with delivering education but for all with an interest in how our children become educated, rather than simply schooled, and engaged members of our society rather than tabloid stereotypes. Mick Waters goes beyond analysing the triumphs and failings of our system, to suggesting practical solutions to the miasma of challenges facing us today. He provides a clarity and sharpness of thinking, liberally interspersed with humour and humility, things our political masters only achieve unwittingly. This is a brilliant contribution to the informed debate that is yet to be had.